CaptainTim
2015-05-13 12:13:54
Last time, NoT Today made a huge splash by qualifying for the tournament over a heavily favoured Complexity gaming squad. At the LAN finals, they managed to beat the star studded lineup of Team Tinker in the round robin, and at the same time proved it was possible for them to win against the other top teams. NoT Today was a well known team among South American viewers, but their performance at The Summit 2 allowed them to break out onto the global stage. So what can we expect from the teams this time around?
The groups:
Group A
Group B
Vici Gaming
NoT Today
Evil Geniuses
Team Secret
Cloud 9
LGD Gaming
Rave
Invictus Gaming
Vici Gaming
Arguably the best team in the world, Vici Gaming has been stomping teams this patch with a deathball push style reminiscent of the strategy that brought them to the grand finals of TI4. Like an unstoppable juggernaut, they have often pulverized their opponents in under thirty minutes. However, they are coming off a recent D2CL grand finals pummeling at the hands of Team Empire, so a weakness has been exposed. Will the other teams be able to copy Empire’s formula and dethrone this team of extraordinary players? Given that they only placed third at The Summit 2, it is possible, but I am not betting my rares on it.
Projected Overall Placement: 1st place
Evil Geniuses
Undisputedly the best team in the West, EG comes into this tournament with little to prove. Their low effort style fits the tournament format and atmosphere perfectly, and it would be terribly unwise to bet against PPD’s ingenious drafts. However, if there is a team that would save its best strategies for The International, it would be EG.
That being said, they have a consistent and talented team, and it is likely they will make it out of the group stage. Their main competitor for the spot is C9, and though recent results have them at a 1-1 split, PPD’s drafts give EG the edge.
Beyond the group stages, they have an edge against Team Secret from their DAC results, and Team Secret just defeated iG at Red Bull. However, last time they did not seem to take the tournament too seriously and finished at a disappointing 4th place.
Projected Overall Placement: 4th place
C9 could very well take advantage of EG’s apathy and advance from the group stage. It is hard to predict that the team led by the ineffable EternalEnvy will finish in any position other than second, given their affinity for that placement. But they landed in a group with arguably the top two teams in the world, which bumps them out at the group stages. The worst part is, EE-sama will not even enjoy the surrounding festivities like most of the other players. I love C9 and I will be cheering for them to win, but my head is in control for this article. Please have mercy EE-sama!
Projected Overall Placement: 5th-6th place
Rave
The fresh new underdog sweethearts of the tournament, and many debated whether they deserved a direct TI5 invitation. Even if they did not deserve it, the debate shows the amount of support this team has going into this tournament. With an impressive showing here, they would certainly make the case that Valve overlooked them, but they have a very tough group ahead. I would not put it past them to upset one of the favoured teams, and if there is a dark horse that could be the story of the tournament, it would be Rave. But I just do not see them placing higher than third in the group.
Projected Overall Placement: 7th-8th place
NoT Today
Last season’s Cinderella story is so last season. They have not put up the proper results since their breakout at The Summit 2, and the departure of fan favourite Iwo will not help their cause with the fans. Their main advantage will be that the Chinese teams will not know a thing about them, but unfortunately that will not be enough. Still, we can look forward to some SmAsH Dota!
Projected Overall Placement: 7th-8th place
Team Secret
Team Secret found their long overdue LAN win at Red Bull Battlegrounds, but they will not be satisfied there. Red Bull is not even listed as a Premier Tournament in Liquidpedia and only featured five teams in a non-traditional format (albeit after a grueling qualifier bracket). Aside from being hungry to prove themselves in a Premier LAN Tournament, they also have the advantage of having edged out their groupmates iG in the Red Bull final, so making it out of the group stages seems very likely. They may not quite be ready for VG’s deathball of ultimate doom though, so I predict they will come up just short of the summit.
Projected Overall Placement: 2nd place
The addition of Director 8 definitely improved this team from last year’s incarnation, but they have been eliminated from different tournaments at the hands of both VG and iG not even a month ago. Perhaps Xiao8 can lead this very talented roster past the group stage, but recent results have been lackluster against the other top teams in China. Still, they performed well against them in March, so they are not heavy underdogs, but the momentum of Secret and iG from Red Bull should carry them through.
Projected Overall Placement: 5th-6th
Invictus Gaming
The International 2 champions have arguably their best roster since that storied win. With legendary carry Burning as their anchor, Ferrari 430 as their pivot, and the dynamic Luo as their space creator, iG carries the kind of weight and hopes that fan favourite DK did last year. However, they have yet to win a Premier Tournament with this new roster, so they cannot be counted as the favourites… yet. The roster is still new and this tournament may be their declaration of invincibility. Even though they only got to the LAN finals by winning the Redemption Vote, I predict they will defeat the carefree EG squad to take third place.
Projected Overall Placement: 3rd Place
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No matter who wins The Summit 3, the real winners will be the fans. From the exposure of the personalities to the already finished Redemption Vote contest, the community will have benefited from The Summit 3 unlike any other tournament this year. The Summit 3 provides a necessary intimate contrast to other tournaments’ professional and sterile environments. After all, the community will remember Chuan in a maid outfit long after they forget who won the tournament.
Watch The Summit 3 at http://twitch.tv/beyondthesummit or buy an in-game ticket from the Dota 2 store. The tournament starts May 13th at 09:00 PDT.If you enjoyed this content, feel free to follow the author at @don_tam.
